Department for Transport

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which agencies are responsible for monitoring and enforcing regulations on the levels of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide or ozone concentrations in emissions of ships in United Kingdom waters.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is responsible for monitoring and enforcing regulations on atmospheric emissions from ships.   There are no regulations in place, or in preparation, relating to emissions of ozone from ships.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Indonesia

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the government of Indonesia in its efforts to provide greater legislative protection for freedom of religion or belief in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our Ambassador in Jakarta met the Indonesian Minister for Religious Affairs in April this year. During the meeting, he urged greater protection of religious beliefs and they discussed the Ministry’s forthcoming bill on protection for religious and faith communities (RUU PUB) on which the Ambassador offered UK assistance and expertise.We have also supported a range of activities in this area, such as human rights training specifically related to freedom of religion for members of the Indonesian judiciary.

Burma

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Myanmar concerning the Population Control Health Care Law and how it can be implemented in a non-discriminatory way.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have made representations on all four of the so-called ‘protection of race and religion bills’, including the population law. We remain concerned that these laws could harm religious tolerance and respect for diversity in Burma, and contravene international standards and treaties to which Burma is a signatory. We have voiced our concerns over the proposed legislation to members of the Burmese government and parliamentarians. The then Minister of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Lynne Featherstone, raised the issue when she met Deputy Foreign Minister Thant Kyaw during her visit to Burma in January. The UK also endorsed a local statement issued by EU Heads of Mission in Rangoon in January, reiterating those concerns and calling on the Burmese government and parliament to ensure that all new legislation is fully compliant with Burma’s international human rights obligations. The population bill was also raised in the EU/Burma Human Rights Dialogue on 18 June.

Gaza: Ports

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with European partners concerning the case for mediating an agreement on international supervision of the Port of Gaza; and what assessment they have made of the difficulties that stand in the way of such an agreement.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The EU, with UK encouragement, has looked at a number of options for how it can encourage an easing of movement and access into and out of Gaza. This includes the possibility of EU assistance in establishing a sea-link from Gaza to another international port, currently envisaged in Cyprus. The difficulty that stands in the way is the remaining need for all parties to reach an agreement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict in Gaza. This should ensure that Hamas and other militant groups permanently end rocket fire and other attacks against Israel; the Palestinian Authority resumes control of Gaza and restores effective and accountable governance; and Israel eases movement and access restrictions to allow the Gazan economy to grow.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed the recent UN report on Operation Protective Edge with the government of Israel; and if not, whether they intend to do so.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv had meetings on 29 and 30 June with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the UN Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry Gaza report was discussed.

Syria

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to prevent states or other agents sending funds and arms to the parties to the conflict in Syria, in particular those who are guilty or suspected of war crimes and grave human rights abuses; and what further action they plan to take.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK does not supply weapons to anyone in Syria, and we have played a major role in trying to prevent both the regime and extremists in Syria from acquiring weapons. UN sanctions require that no states, groups or individuals may make available arms or funds to designated groups or individuals. In February 2015 the UN Security Council unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2199, which the British Government co-sponsored. UNSCR 2199 specifically targets the fund raising methods used by Al-Qaida and its affiliates operating in Syria and Iraq. The UK is also at the forefront of efforts to broaden the EU Syria sanctions regime, which limits the regime's access to funding. This year the EU has listed 24 new Syrian regime ministers who are jointly responsible for the regime’s reprehensible policies. There are several EU-Syria trade embargoes currently in place, including prohibiting exportation of chemical weapons (and precursors) and luxury goods to Syria, importation of oil from Syria and access to EU financial institutions. We will work hard to sustain these efforts.

Turkey: LGBT People

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they plan to make to the government of Turkey about the use of water cannons and tear gas on participants at the gay pride celebrations in Istanbul.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We regularly raise human rights issues and the need to allow freedom of expression as part of our ongoing dialogue with the Turkish government. As part of this dialogue, we continue to urge the Turkish authorities to exercise restraint and respond proportionately to public demonstrations. We strongly encourage Turkey to continue work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, especially in the areas of minority rights and freedom of expression. Further sustained work is needed to meet EU standards on the fundamental rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. But we do welcome progress made, including the ruling of Turkey’s Constitutional Court finding hate speech on the grounds of sexual orientation to constitute a criminal offence.

Department for International Development

Syria: Overseas Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the £800 million of aid for Syria has already been (1) allocated to organizations, and (2) spent.

Baroness Verma: The entire £800 million has been allocated to partner organisations delivering aid in Syria. By the end of the current financial year, a total of £653 million will have been spent by partner organisations. The remaining £147 million will be spent in financial year 15/16.

Overseas Aid

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what rules determine the proportion of the cost of military assets used for humanitarian and other overseas aid operations that can be allocated to the budget of the Department for International Development.

Earl of Courtown: All UK official development assistance (ODA) meets the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ODA reporting directives. The Directives state ‘additional costs incurred for the use of military personnel to deliver humanitarian aid or perform development services are included in ODA (but not their regular salaries and expenses)’.

Overseas Aid

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the complete cost saving of using Ministry of Defence assets rather than equivalent private sector assets for humanitarian or other overseas aid operations cannot be allocated to the budget of the Department for International Development.

Earl of Courtown: It is extremely difficult to make a direct cost comparison between military and private sector assets. In general however, in terms of capacity to deliver relief supplies, private commercial suppliers are considerably cheaper tonne for tonne than the armed forces, which is why DFID uses civil commercial options wherever possible and resorts to military assets only when necessary and as a matter of last resort, in line with the United Nations ‘Oslo’ Guidelines.

Overseas Aid

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount from the European Union development aid budget was included towards the United Kingdom's 0.7 per cent of gross national product aid budget target in 2013–14.

Earl of Courtown: The UK Government has committed to a target of 0.7% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a percentage of Gross National Income, which is measured and reported on a calendar year basis. During 2013, the most recently reported year, £813m of the UK contribution to the EU budget was attributed as ODA.

Department for Education

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they propose to address criticisms of careers education in schools from the Confederation of British Industry; and whether they plan to provide support and resources for the proposals set out in London Ambitions, which would ensure that London schools, including primary schools, enable every child to receive 100 guaranteed hours of experience of the world of work before they leave school.

Lord Nash: The government’s aim is to bring the worlds of work and education closer together, helping to ensure that young people leave school well rounded and prepared for working life. This is also a key concern for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). It is why the government is providing start-up funding to the Careers and Enterprise Company, which will encourage greater collaboration between schools and colleges and employers, helping young people across England, including in London, to access the best advice and inspiration. The establishment of the Careers and Enterprise Company has been welcomed by the CBI. The National Careers Service was launched in April 2012 and also provides professional and impartial careers information, advice and guidance to young people aged 13 and over and adults to support their decision making about learning and work. From October 2014, we enhanced the role of the National Careers Service. National Careers Service contractors now have a responsibility to work with schools and colleges to facilitate relationships with local employers. They will work closely with the new Careers and Enterprise Company, whose core purpose is to take a lead role in transforming the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people to inspire them to take control of and shape their own futures. The National Careers Service users satisfaction and progression survey shows that 94% of face-to-face and telephone customers agreed that the overall quality of the service was good. The department welcomes the launch of the London Ambitions Careers Offer, which sets out a suggested framework for a good careers offer for young people and brings together partners from all sectors to achieve this goal. Officials will keep in touch with the Greater London Authority about this work.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on meeting obligations to veterans in accordance with the Military Covenant.

Earl Howe: The majority of service-leavers make a successful transition into civilian life, due in no small part to the ethos and skills they develop during their Service careers. For those who struggle, the Government is committed to ensuring they receive the support they need and are treated with the dignity they deserve. One of the key tenets of the Covenant is that the Armed Forces community should, in some cases, be afforded special consideration. That is why, subject to clinical need, veterans receive priority care from NHS England and in the Devolved Administrations. Over the past five years we have allocated £40 million to support veterans with accommodation needs. In addition, the Chancellor announced in March that a new £25 million fund would be set up, to which charities can apply to assist our elderly veterans. These are the people to whom our nation turned at the most perilous moments in our history, and it is absolutely right that we recognise their needs now.

Iraq: Armed Conflict

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether driving Daesh out of Iraq would be a final military victory.

Earl Howe: ISIL must be defeated both in Iraq and Syria. This will take time and patience but it is a fight we must win. We are also clear that it cannot be achieved by military action alone which is why the UK supports inclusive governance in Iraq and political transition in Syria.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water Companies

Lord Oxburgh: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated number of new entrants expected in the deregulated water marketplace.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: We expect the number of new entrants in the expanded Anglo-Scottish market for non-household retail services to grow over time ahead of the extension of choice to all non-household customers in English in April 2017.   At this point it is not possible to give a definitive number of new entrants likely to be in the market in April 2017. However, there are currently 12 new entrant companies who are licensed to operate in the existing retail market in England and there are 18 licensed providers in the Scottish retail market. Eight of these companies are currently licensed in both jurisdictions.   There are 18 water and sewerage undertakers some of whom have already established separate retail companies and all of which will have the opportunity to exit from the non-household retail market at market opening which may also increase the number of entrants to the market.   The Open Water Programme, involving Government, Industry and Ofwat, is preparing for market opening and is in contact with a number of additional businesses that are considering entering the market. These prospective retailers are playing an important role in helping to shape delivery of the programme and ensure a level playing field for all participants in the market.

Home Office

Radicalism: Social Networking

Lord Balfe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to prevent online social media platforms such as Twitter being used by terrorist organisations such as ISIS to spread propaganda and to radicalise and recruit vulnerable Europeans.

Lord Bates: We are working with responsible social media companies to take robust action against terrorist material from groups like ISIL. Since 2010, over 95,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed at the request of the dedicated Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit.We are also working with Europol and other EU member states to set up an EU-Internet Referral Unit, based on the British model – this is now up and running in pilot form and will assist with the volumes of terrorist and extremist content online, in a number of European languages.We want industry to go further and see them employ a zero tolerance approach to terrorist activity on their networks. We will continue encouraging companies to produce industry standards for the identification, removal and referral of terrorist activity.

Police: Misconduct

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers the Home Secretary has to remove the pensions of police officers who have been found guilty of serious misconduct.

Lord Bates: Under the Police Pension Regulations Act 1987, where a police officer has been convicted of a criminal offence committed in connection with their service as a police officer, then a Police and Crime Commissioner (in London, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) may apply to the Home Secretary for a certificate that allows them to forfeit part of the police officer’s pension.The offence must have been gravely injurious to the interests of the State or be liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.Once a certificate is issued, the final decision on whether to forfeit the pension is a matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner of the police force concerned.

Motor Vehicles: Locks and Keys

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to discuss with motor vehicle manufacturers the possible re-introduction of metal keys in order to reduce vehicle theft.

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to encourage insurers to provide incentives for vehicles that have keys to secure them and disincentives for keyless locking systems or any electronic systems that are more prone to theft.

Lord Bates: The Independent Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that vehicle crime is at its lowest level since 1995. However, in order to ensure that we remain alert to trends in the nature of vehicle crime, and whether new approaches are required, the Home Office has convened a small group that brings together the police and representatives of the motor industry.The Government is clear that we must become smarter when it comes to crime prevention. That is why we are developing a modern crime prevention strategy to address the key drivers of crime. Our work with the police and motor industry is part of this.

HM Treasury

Treasury: Correspondence

Lord Knight of Weymouth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was spent by HM Treasury in the last financial year on (1) postage and printed stationery, (2) fax machines and supplies, and (3) email services.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: In the 2014/15 financial year the Treasury spent £16,696 on postal charges. Details of spending on printed stationery are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.   Details on the spend relating to fax machines is not available. Email services in the Treasury form part of a wider shared ICT provision and costs are not separately identifiable.

Treasury: Correspondence

Lord Knight of Weymouth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of correspondence sent by HM Treasury in the last financial year was sent by (1) post, (2) fax, and (3) email.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Treasury does not hold this information.

Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what control totals HM Treasury has set for the Northern Ireland Assembly for 2015–16.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The current control totals for the Northern Ireland Executive in the year 2015-16, broken down by Resource DEL and Capital DEL, are as follows:   £m nominal2015-16Resource DEL10,109of which: RDEL excluding depreciation9,559depreciation ring fence in RDEL409student loans ring fence in RDEL141Capital DEL1,100of which: Fiscal CDEL971Financial Transactions129

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Carbon Emissions

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of their 2020 carbon emissions reduction target they intend to achieve through energy efficiency measures.

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of their 2020 carbon emissions reduction target they intend to achieve through the development of thermal heating capacity in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Climate Change Act (2008) requires the Government to set legally binding ‘carbon budgets’ to meet the objective of reducing emissions by at least 80% in 2050 from 1990 levels. The Act requires that the UK’s emissions in the third carbon budget period, which covers 2020, are at least 34% below the 1990 baseline for emissions.The Government has not set specific targets for how much of the emissions reductions required for each carbon budget should come from different emissions sources, for example heat, electricity or transport. This is to provide sufficient flexibility to ensure carbon savings are delivered across the economy in the most cost effective way.However, DECC does produce projections of UK emissions that account for the impact of Government policies. The last projections published in September 2014 [1] showed that the UK was on track to meet the second (2013-17) and third (2018-22) budgets having already met the first carbon budget (2008-12).In 2020, policies [2] which drive improvements in energy efficiency (across all sectors) are projected to contribute 61% of the total reduction in emissions and policies influencing the uptake of low-carbon heat technologies are projected to contribute 5%. Other policies such as Building Regulations also support the reduction of heat emissions from buildings for example through the requirement to install a condensing boiler in most cases when a boiler needs to be replaced.[1] Updated Energy and Emissions Projections: 2014 (DECC) [2] Source: Annex D of the Updated Energy and Emissions Projections (EEP): 2014 (DECC). Based on all policies listed in EEP, including those introduced before as well as after the publication of the Low Carbon Transition Plan (LCTP) 2009